Vol.  XXI 


MAY-JUNE,   1921 


No.  3 


JOURNAL  OF  THE  AMERICAN 
MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY 


ANNUAL  SUBSCRIPTION  U.  S.  AND  CANADA  $3.00     FOREIGN  $3.50     SINGLE  COPIES  50  CENTS 


The  American  Museum  of  Natural  History 


BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 


HENRY  F AIRFIELD  OSBORN,  President 

CLEVELAND  H.  DODGE,  First  Vice  President 

J.  P.  MORGAN,  Second  Vice  President 

HENRY  P.  DAVISON,  Treasurer 

PERCY  R.  PYNE,  Secretary 

GEORGE  F.  BAKER 

GEORGE  F.  BAKER,  JR. 

FREDERICK  F.  BREWSTER 

THOMAS  DE\VITT  CUYLKR 

WALTER  DOUGLAS 

CHILDS  FRICK 

MADISON  GRANT 


WILLIAM  AVERELL  HARRIMAN 
ARCHER  M.  HUNTINGTON 
ADRIAN  ISELIN 
ARTHUR  CURTISS  JAMES 
WALTER  B.  JAMES 
CHARLES  LANIEK 
OGDEN  MILLS 
A.  PERRY  Os BORN- 
GEORGE  D.  PRATT 
THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 
LEONARD  C.  SANFORD 
JOHN  B.  TREVOR 


FELIX  M.  WARBURG 

JOHN  F.  HYLAN,  MAYOR  OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  L.  CRAIG,  COMPTROLLER  OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 

FRANCIS  D.  GALLATIN,  COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  PARKS 


GEORGE  H.  SHERWOOD,  Executive  Secretary 


SCIENTIFIC  STAFF 
FREDERIC  A.  LUCAS,  Sc.D.,  Director 


Geology  and  Invertebrate  Paleontology 

EDMUND  OTIS  HOVEY,  PH.D.,  Curator 
CHESTER  A.  REEDS,    PH.D..    Associate    Curator   of    In- 
vertebrate Palaeontology 

Mineralogy 

HERBERT  P.  WHITLOCK,  C.E.,  Curator 
GEORGE  F.  KUNZ,  PH.D.,  Research  Associate.  Gems 

Woods  and  Forestry 
Curatorship  Vacant) 

Lower  Invertebrates 

HENRY  E.  CRAMPTON,  PH.D.,  Honorary  Curator 
ROY  W.  MINER,  A.B.,  Associate  Curator  (In  Charge) 
WILLARD  G.  VAN  NAME,  PH.D.,  Assistant  Curator 

FRANK  J.  MYERS,  Research  Associate,  Rotifera 

A.  L.  TREADWELL,  PH.D.,  Research  Associate,  Annulata 

Entomology 

FRANK  E.  LUTZ,  PH.D.,  Curator 
A.  J.  MUTCHLER,  Assistant  in  Coleoptera 
FRANK  E.  WATSON,  B.S.,  Assistant  in  Lepidoptera 
JOSEPH  BEQUAERT,  PH.D.,  Assistant  in  Congo  Zoology 

CHARLES  W.  LENG,  B.S.,  Research  Associate,  Coleoptera 
HERBERT  F.  SCHWARZ.  A.M.,  Research  Associate,  Hymen- 

optera 
WILLIAM  M.  WHEELER,  PH.D.,  Research  Associate,  Social 

Insects 

Ichthyology 

BASHPORD  DEAN,  PH.D..  Honorary  Curator 
JOHN  T.  NICHOLS,  A.B.,  Associate  Curator  of  Recent  Fishes 
E.  W.  GUDGER,  PH.D.,  Associate  in  Ichthyology 

Herpetology 

G.  K.  NOBLE,  A.M.,  Assistant  Curator  (In  Charge) 
KARL  P.  SCHMIDT,  Assistant  Curator 

Ornithology 

FRANK  M.  CHAPMAN,  Sc.D.,  Curator 
W.  DEW.  MILLER,  Associate  Curator 
ROBERT  CUSHMAN  MURPHY,  D.Sc.,  Associate  Curator  of 

Marine  Birds 

JAMES  P.  CHAPIN,  A.M.,  Assistant  Curator,  African  Birds 
LUDLOW  GRISCOM,  M.A.,  Assistant  Curator 

Mammalogy 

J.  A.  ALLEN,  PH.D.,  Honorary  Curator 
ROY  C.  ANDREWS,  A.M.,  Associate  Curator  of  Mammals  of 

the  Eastern  Hemisphere 
H  E.  ANTHONY,  A.M.    Associate  Curator  of  Mammals  of 

the  Western  Hemisphere 


HERBERT  LANG,  Assistant  Curator,  African  Mammals 
CARL  K.  AKEI.EY,  Associate  in  Mammalogy 

Vertebrate  Paleontology 

HENRY  FAIRFIELD  OSBORN,  LL.D.,  D.Sc.,  Honorary  Cur- 
ator 

W.  D.  MATTHEW,  PH.D.,  Curator 

WALTER  GRANGER,  Associate  Curator  ot  Fossil  Mammals 
BARNUM  BROWN,  A.B.,  Associate  Curator  of  Fossil  Reptiles 
WILLIAM  K.  GREGORY,  PH.D.,  Associate  in  Palaeontology 

Comparative  Anatomy 
WILLIAM  K.  GREGORY  PH.D.,  Curator 
S.  H.  CHUBB,  Assistant  in  Osteology 

J.  HOWARD  MCGREGOR,  PH.D.,  Research  Associate  in 
Human  Anatomy 

Anthropology 

CLARK  WISSLER  PH.D.,  Curator 

PLINY  E.  GODDARD,  PH.D.,  Curator  of  Ethnology 

ROBERT  H.  LOWIE,  PH.D.,  Associate  Curator  of  Ethnology 

N.  C.  NELSON,  M.L.,  Associate  Curator  of  North  American 
Archaeology 

HERBERT  J.  SPINDEN,  PH.D.,  Associate  Curator  of  Mexican 
and  Central  American  Archaeology 

CHARLES  W.  MEAD,  Assistant  Curator  of  Peruvian  Arch- 
aeology 

Louis  R.  SULLIVAN,  A.M.,  Assistant  Curator,  Physical 
Anthropology 

CLARENCE  I.  HAY,  A.M.,  Research  Associate  in  Mexican 
and  Central  American  Archaeology 

Comparative  Physiology 
RALPH  W.  TOWER,  PH.D.,  Curator 

ALESSANDRO  FABBRI,  Research  Associate,  Physiology 

Public  Health 
CHARLES-EDWARD  AMORY  WINSLOW,  D.P.H.,  Curator 

Public  Education 
GEORGE  H.  SHERWOOD,  A.M.,  Curator 
G.  CLYDE  FISHER,  PH.D.,  Associate  Curator 
RUTH  E.  CROSBY,  B.A..  Assistant  Curator 
GRACE  E.  FISHER,  Assistant 

Library  and  Publications 
RALPH  W.  TOWER.  PH.D.,  Curator 
IDA  RICHARDSON  HOOD,  A.B.,  Assistant  Librarian 

Preparation 
LAURENCE  VAIL  COLEMAN,  M.A.,  Chief 


/  Y 

D 


DEVOTED  TO  NATURAL   HISTORY, 

EXPLORATION,  AND  THE  DEVELOP- 

MENT  OF    PUBLIC    EDUCATION 

THROUGH  THE  MUSEUM 


("lite.  ; 


MAY— JUNE,  1921 

[Published   August] 

VOLUME  XXI,  NUMBER  3 


[  Copyrighted  ^holograph  by  Underwood  &•  Underwood,  October  20,  IQZO 


224 


I/*  If 

Bancroft  Library 


VOLUME  XXI 


Hi  r^  HT*  s~*\. 
ISTO 


MAY-JUNE,  1921 


NUMBER  3 


MY  LIFE  OF  EXPLORATION 

BY 

CARL  LUMHOLTZ 

FOREWORD. — In  the  accompanying  pages  we  have  a  unique  contribution  from  a  man  who  is  a 
charming  writer  and  above  all  a  great  explorer.  This  autobiographical  sketch  was  prepared  at  the 
request  01  NATURAL  HISTORY  and  with  a  deal  of  modest  embarrassment  on  the  part  of  the  author. 
Its  charm  lies  in  that  in  the  writing  of  it  Dr.  Lumholtz  took  the  same  objective,  discriminating  view 
that  characterizes  his  travel  narratives.  Later  explorers  following  in  his  footsteps  have  often  testi- 
fied enthusiastically  to  the  skill  and  exactness  of  Dr.  Lumholt/  in  hitting  upon  the  outstanding 
features  of  each  new  environment  encountered  and  his  ability  to  convoy  these  snapshots  to  the 
reader  with  few  words.  One  thus  gets  the  feel  of  the  country  from  the  printed  pages.  So  when  one 
reads  the  following  narrative  he  obtains  in  retrospect  characteristic  glimpses  of  a  career  occupied 
above  all  with  five  major  expeditions,  each  of  which  has  added  greatly  to  our  knowledge  of  the  re- 
mote corners  of  the  earth.  The  collections  and  data  from  two  of  these  great  expeditions  were  de- 
posited in  the  American  Museum.  It  has  often  been  said  that  one  of  the  greatest  gifts  and  the  rarest 
is  the  genius  for  exploration;  however  that  may  be,  there  ran  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  genius  of  Dr. 
Lumholtz. — CLARK  WISSLER. 


A  school  as  a  ten-year-old  boy, 
I  found  the  lessons  about  beasts 
and  birds  of  the  most  absorbing 
interest.  At  that  time  not  much  atten- 
tion was  given  to  natural  history  in  the 
schools  of  Norway  and  I  was  sorry  after 
a  short  time  to  have  to  give  up  the  study 
of  animals  for  that  of  Latin  and  Greek. 
However,  I  later  received  some  instruc- 
tion in  botany  and  learned  how  to  collect 
plants,  and  during  the  last  years  of  my 
school  days  I  devoted  almost  every 
afternoon  in  the  season  to  such  collect- 
ing. In  that  way  I  made  a  fairly  repre- 
sentative herbarium  of  the  phanerogam 
flora  of  inland  Norway,  which  some  years 
later  was  presented  to  the  Kew  Gardens 
near  London. 

In  taking  my  second  degree  at  the 
University  of  Christiania  I  naturally 
chose  the  branches  of  natural  science. 
I  was  particularly  interested  in  zoology, 
which  attracted  me  more  than  botany 
ever  had.  It  was  the  desire  of  my  father, 
who  was  a  captain  in  the  Norwegian 
army,  to  make  a  clergyman  of  me  and, 
being  of  the  old  school,  he  did  not  see 
much  value  in  the  study  of  zoology. 
As  theology  did  not  appeal  to  me  nor  the 


position  of  clergyman  in  a  state  church 
barring  the  attractiveness  of  the  farm 
with  which  he  is  provided,  and  as  under 
such  circumstances  I  could  not  make  up 
my  mind  what  course  to  pursue,  I  ac- 
cepted a  position  as  teacher  in  a  private 
family  in  the  country  and  continued  in 
that  capacity  for  over  a  year  and  a 
half.  Finally  I  decided  to  meet  my 
father's  wishes  and  study  theology. 
The  great  naturalist,  Michael  Sars, 
father  of  the  present  Prof.  G.  O.  Sars. 
of  the  University  of  Christiania,  was  a 
country  parson  at  the  time  he  made  his 
startling  discoveries  of  animal  life  in  the 
deep  fjords  of  Norway  and  at  times  I 
thought  perhaps  there  might  be  a  similar 
opening  for  me,  through  the  gates  of 
theology,  to  cultivate  what  was  according 
to  my  inclination. 

I  took  my  degree  in  theology  but  it 
had  already  become  perfectly  clear  to 
my  mind  that  I  should  never  be  a  clergy- 
man. To  secure  my  degree  I  had  had 
to  work  sixteen  hours  a  day  for  several 
months;  this  strain  brought  on  a  nervous 
breakdown,  which,  however,  unexpect- 
edly turned  to  my  benefit.  To  regain 
the  stability  of  my  nerves  I  now  de- 

225 


226 


NATURAL  HISTORY 


voted  myself  exclusively  to  the  collect- 
ing of  birds  and  animals  and  to  a  study 
of  their  modes  of  life.  The  specimens 
secured  I  sent  to  the  zoological  museum 
of  the  University  of  Christiania  and  I 
always  felt  happy  when  Professor  R. 
Collett's  letters  of  acceptance  arrived 
with  some  remarks  about  the  specimens 
sent. 

In  the  summer  I  made  tours,  always 
alone,  up  to  the  mountains  in  the  central 
part  of  Norway,  and  how  wonderful  it 
seemed  to  be  in  touch  with  nature  again ! 
Never  shall  I  forget  how  beautiful  some 
clumps  of  small  mountain  willows  looked 
one  early  morning  as  I  passed  through 
them  in  the  enchanting  summer  light  of 
the  northern  countries.  After  a  rainy 
night,  newly  formed  pools  reflected  the 
brilliant  sunlight  in  which  the  leaves  of 
the  willows  fairly  seemed  to  sparkle. 
There  was  enrapturing  freshness  in  the 
landscape,  which  was  high  above  the 
usual  abode  of  man.  The  beauty  of 
nature  took  hold  of  me  and  I  felt  my 
freedom  from  the  confinements  of  meta- 
physics and  scholasticism.  I  was  over- 
come by  emotion  and  wept  from  joy. 

The  winter  was  no  obstacle  to  my  en- 
thusiasm for  zoology.  The  skiis,  in 
themselves  a  wonderful  stimulant  to  a 
love  of  nature,  carried  me  far  away  into 
the  hills  and  ranges  surrounding  Lille- 
hammer,  my  native  town  in  central 
Norway,  famous  for  the  natural  beauty 
of  its  environment. 

Love  of  nature  took  stronger  and 
stronger  hold  of  me  and  one  day  it  oc- 
curred to  me  what  a  misfortune  it 
would  be  to  die  without  having  seen  the 
whole  earth.  I  could  hardly  endure  the 
thought  which  haunted  me.  There 
seemed  very  small  prospect  of  my  being 
able  to  realize  my  ambition  because  we 
were  a  large  family  and,  although  we 
were  all  very  well  brought  up,  my  father 
had  no  fortune  to  speak  of. 

One  day,  however,  Prof.  R.  Collett  pro- 
posed to  me  that  I  should  go  to  Aus- 
tralia to  collect  animals  and  birds  for  the 
zoological  museum  of  the  university. 


I  was  elated  at  this  suggestion.  It  was 
arranged  also  that  the  various  museums 
of  the  university  make  contributions 
toward  the  expenses  of  my  proposed  ex- 
pedition. One  of  the  best  Norwegian 
sailing  vessels,  bound  for  South  Australia 
with  a  lumber  cargo,  took  me  aboard  as 
a  guest,  and  after  a  hundred  days  of 
sailing  we  came  to  Adelaide.  From  here 
in  due  time  I  arrived  at  Gracemere, 
a  cattle  station  near  Rockhampton, 
Queensland,  where  the  owners,  Messrs. 
Archer,  who  were  Norwegians  of  Scot- 
tish descent,  had  invited  me  to  make  my 
headquarters  as  long  as  I  liked. 

After  I  had  collected  at  this  station 
for  a  few  months,  an  opportunity  came 
to  accompany  a  wagon  driver  who  was 
going  to  take  provisions  four  hundred 
miles  inland  to  Minnie  Downs  Station, 
which  my  friends  also  owned,  on  the 
Barcoo  River.  Here  I  spent  some  time 
collecting.  Not  far  from  the  house, 
in  the  dry  creek,  a  certain  fossil  shell 
was  found  in  abundance;  it  was  a  gigantic 
Inoceramus  from  the  Cretaceous  period 
and  turned  out  to  be  a  new  species  (gi- 
ganteous). 

Riding  one  horse  and  leading  my  pack 
horse  I  continued  my  journey  alone 
westward  to  the  Diamentina  River, 
usually  staying  for  a  night  at  some 
sheep  or  cattle  station,  where  hospitality 
is  always  extended  to  the  traveler.  I 
had  a  burning  desire  to  continue  the  trip 
right  to  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  but  on 
the  Diamentina  River  I  contracted 
disagreeable  wounds  on  the  lower  part 
of  my  legs,  the  result  of  bites  inflicted 
by  fleas  living  on  the  ground.  This  in- 
fection troubled  me  for  several  weeks, 
affecting  my  whole  body,  and  finally 
obliged  me  to  return  to  the  coast. 

Mr.  Walter  J.  Scott,  a  great  "squat- 
ter" whom  I  met  in  Brisbane,  had  been 
kind  enough  to  invite  me  to  stay  at 
Herbert  Vale,  an  abandoned  cattle  sta- 
tion which  he  owned  on  the  Herbert 
River  in  Northeast  Queensland,  about 
1 8  degrees  south  latitude.  He  had 
moved  his  station  up  to  the  highland 


MY  LIFE  OF  EXPLORATION 


227 


about  a  hundred  miles  westward,  but 
good  buildings  had  been  erected  at 
the  original  place  and  he  had  left  an 
old  man  in  charge.  Here  I  might  make 
my  headquarters  as  long  as  I  desired. 
It  was  a  very  tempting  offer  and,  as 
soon  as  circumstances  permitted,  I 
found  myself  at  the  deserted  cattle 
station  on  the  Herbert  River. 

I  at  once  sought  the  natives,  who  were 
prowling  about  in  the  neighborhood  and 
who  would  come  to  the  station  every 
time  we  killed  a  bullock  in  order  to  se- 
cure the  offal.  These  were  so-called 
"civilized"  blacks,  that  is  to  say,  they 
had  picked  up  a  few  words  of  English 
and  had  learned  to  smoke  tobacco,  of 
which  these  aborigines  are  inordinately 
fond;  they  were  ambitious  to  secure  such 
ornaments  as  a  cast-off  shirt  or,  better 
still,  a  hat, — to  their  mind  the  principal 
distinction  between  a  white  man  and  a 
black.  These  savages,  with  very  few 
exceptions  absolutely  nude,  who  seemed 
to  fit  so  well  with  their  surroundings,  at 
once  attracted  me,  and  on  my  daily 
excursions  into  the  neighborhood,  proved 
to  be  good  companions. 

The  coast  range  not  far  away,  at  an 
elevation  of  four  thousand  feet,  seemed 
always  to  beckon  to  me  so  invitingly; 
there  ought  to  be  rare,  probably  new, 
species  of  animal  life  in  the  dense  jungle 
of  that  lonely  range.  But  how  to  get 
there  when  the  blacks  of  that  region 
were  reputed  to  be  "bad"?  After  a 
while  I  decided  on  a  bold  undertaking, 
to  camp  and  travel  with  these  aborigines 
alone.  I  felt  that  surely  they  would  help 
me  to  find  animals  hitherto  unknown  to 
science.  As  far  as  I  know,  no  white 
man  has  ever  attempted  to  camp  alone 
with  the  wild  natives  of  Australia;  the 
first  warning  the  colonists  give  you  is, 
"  Never  have  a  black  fellow  behind  you." 
My  daring  was,  however,  richly  rewarded 
by  the  finding  of  new  species  of  mammals, 
by  the  insight  gained  into  the  life  of 
primitive  man,  and  by  the  intense  in- 
terest derived  from  real  touch  with  na- 
ture. 


Courtesy  of  Chirles  Scribtter's  Sons. 
Native  Australians  from  Northeast  Queens- 
land with  their  characteristic  wooden  clubs  and 
shield.    A  wooden  sword  is  on  the  ground 

This  sojourn  for  the  better  part  of  a 
year  in  the  coast  range  near  Herbert 
River  became,  in  fact,  the  opening  chap- 
ter of  my  life  as  an  explorer.  Thus  far  I 
had  been  a  zoologist.  My  life,  how- 
ever, among  the  blacks  of  Northeast 
Queensland  awakened  my  interest  in 
primitive  man,  and  since  then  native 
races  have  been  my  life  study. 

From  my  headquarters  I  usually  took 
along  a  dozen  or  more  pieces  of  mildly 
salted  and  dried  beef,  some  flour,  and  a 
small  quantity  of  sugar,  but  as  these 
provisions  were  quickly  consumed  be- 
cause I  was  obliged  to  share  them  with 
my  men,  who  were  very  fond  of  them,  I 
also  secured  from  my  men  the  food  that 
the  natives  use.  There  is  a  vine  growing 
in  that  jungle  that  has  a  comparatively 
large  root,  which  is  excellent  eating 
when  roasted,  but  unfortunately  it  is 
rather  rare.  As  for  the  rest  of  the  vege- 
tables that  the  blacks  in  those  parts 
of  the  country  use,  they  are  very  unat- 
tractive. Some  of  them  in  their  natural 
state  are  actually  poisonous,  and  have 
to  undergo  a  process  of  heating  and  soak- 
ing in  water  before  they  may  be  eaten. 


228 


NATURAL  HISTORY 


An  Australian  black  fellow  climbing  a  gum 
tree  by  the  aid  of  a  vine  cut  from  the  jungle. 
With  the  left  hand  he  holds  on  to  a  notch  in  the 
vine  and,  after  looping  the  tree  with  the  free 
end,  winds  that  end  around  his  right  arm.  By 
flipping  upward  his  rope-like  support,  he  skil- 
fully ascends 


In  respect  to  meat  I  was  somewhat 
better  off.  The  large  lizards  should  not 
be  despised,  but  the  flesh  of  snakes  was 
dry  and  practically  unfit  as  food,  though 
the  liver  is  as  pleasing  to  -  the  taste  as 
that  of  chicken.  I  often  ate  the  ani- 
mals and  birds  I  skinned/ but  most  of 
them  were  unpalatable.  The  meat  of  the 
tree  kangaroo  (Dendrolagus  lumholtzii}, 
which  I  had  the  pleasure  of  discovering, 
was,  however,  really  attractive  in 
taste,  reminding  one  of  game;  this  is 
very  far  from  being  the  case  with  the 
meat  of  the  ordinary  kangaroo  or  of  the 
wallaby.  My  favorite  dish  was  the  larva, 
eaten  toasted,  of  a  large  brown  beetle; 
the  larva  is  found  in  decaying  acacia 
trees.  Contrary  to  what  one  expects  the 
Australian  native  cooks  his  food  well, 
and  if  there  is  the  slightest  indication 
of  the  meat  smelling,  he  throws  it  away. 
He  does  not  know  the  use  of  salt. 

The  curious  "incubating"  habit  of 
the  "brush  turkey"  (talegalld),  which 
deposits  its  eggs  in  large  mounds,  there 
to  be  hatched  by  themselves,  now  and 
then  offered  us  a  chance  of  sitting  down 
to  a  really  good  meal,  for  the  eggs  are 
large  and  very  tasty.  From  the  natives 
I  learned  the  use  of  honey,  which  since 
then  never  has  been  missing  on  any  of  my 
expeditions.  It  makes  a  wholesome  and 
pleasant  drink  and  is  rich  in  vitamines. 

Every  evening  the  blacks  at  my  re- 
quest made  a  hut  of  branches,  which 
was  rather  low  but  long  enough  to  en- 
able me  to  stretch  out  at  full  length, 
an  opportunity  for  relaxation  which  the 
natives  are  never  particular  about.  If 
it  looked  like  fine  weather,  my  men  did 
not  even  trouble  to  make  any  hut  for 
themselves.  Their  one  preparation  for 
a  comfortable  rest  was,  by  the  aid  of  a 
stick  and  their  fingers,  to  make  a  hole 
in  the  ground  big  enough  to  fit  the  hip. 
To  keep  warm  in  the  night  three  or  four 
would  sometimes  huddle  together,  abso- 
lutely nude  and  without  any  cover 
whatsoever. 

A  very  important  part  of  my  outfit 
was  tobacco,  which  served  me  instead 


MY  LIFE  OF  EXPLORATION 


229 


of  money;  for  tobacco  they  would  do 
anything.  In  Australia  the  "weed" 
imported  from  America  could  be  pur- 
chased as  plates  of  the  strong  "nigger- 
head"  variety  and,  when  about  to  be 
used,  was  broken  up  in  sticks  of  the  size 
of  a  finger.  Clay  pipes  were  also  taken 
along,  for  the  tobacco  is  never  chewed 
by  these  natives.  They  were  well  satis- 
fied with  a  small  bit  but  had  to  be  paid 
for  any  services,  however  trivial,  that 
they  did. 

Next  to  tobacco  my  gun  exercised 
great  powers  over  them  though  I  always 
had  to  bear  in  mind  that  missing  my  aim 
even  once  would  mean  a  dangerous  reac- 
tion in  their  estimate  of  the  white  man's 
superiority.  During  the  latter  part  of 
my  stay,  whenever  I  found  the  behavior 
of  my  men  less  satisfactory,  in  the  eve- 
ning just  before  going  to  bed  I  would 
fire  a  shot  from  my  revolver,  which  they 
called  "the  gun's  baby"  and  for  which 
they  had  a  wholesome  fear.  It  reminded 
them  of  my  superiority.  Not  one  word 
more  was  said.  It  was  like  my  "good 
night"  to  them. 

We  naturally  slept  around  the  same 
fire,  which  at  first  they  insisted  upon 
making  small  in  order  that  their  enemies 
should  not  discover  their  whereabouts. 
It  was  a  very  fortunate  circumstance 
for  me  that  in  the  winter  time  when  I  be- 
gan this  camping  life  I  used  to  feel  cold 
at  night  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  I  had 
brought  along  a  blanket.  I  had  to 
rouse  my  lazy  black  fellows  and  induce 
them  to  secure  more  wood  for  the  fire. 
By  being  disturbed  in  this  way  they  got  it 
into  their  heads,  as  I  later  discovered, 
that  the  white  man  slept  but  little  and 
always  had  the  "  baby"  ready. 

I  had  one  friend  among  the  savages, 
a  young  black  fellow  called  Yokai,  who 
took  a  singular  interest  in  the  white  man, 
helped  me  to  gather  men  for  my  expe- 
ditions, and  evidenced  a  certain  attach- 
ment to  me.  He  loved  tobacco  and  all 
the  things  I  had  seemed  to  interest  him; 
nothing  made  him  as  happy  as  to  be  al- 
lowed to  make  damper,  the  bread  of 


those  who  rough  it  in  Australia,  con- 
sisting of  flour  and  water  and  cooked  in 
the  hot  ashes.  To  him  no  doubt  I  owed 
my  life,  as  he  on  one  occasion  said  to  me 
"  it  was  no  good  killing  the  white  man." 
He  was  remarkably  naive  and  often 
blurted  out  information  about  the  other 
blacks  which  was  of  the  greatest  value 
to  me.  Nevertheless,  I  felt  that  if  mat- 
ters were  brought  to  a  crisis,  I  could  not 
depend  even  upon  him,  for  the  Austral- 
ian blacks  are  like  big  children.  I  never 
knew  when  he  might  be  persuaded  by  his 
elders  to  allow  them  to  kill  me,  which 
they  most  likely  would  have  done  by 
smashing  my  head  with  a  stone  during 
the  night. 

My  little  supply  of  tobacco,  my  shirts, 
and  above  all  my  white  blanket  were 
objects  of  envy  to  my  men,  and  in  con- 
sequence there  was  a  constant  tempta- 
tion to  kill  their  possessor.  One  reason 
why  the  blacks  became  very  dangerous 
was  that  one  of  my  own  blacks  had 
killed  a  lone  white  man  who  was 
attempting  to  reach  the  highland  by 
walking.  I  exerted  myself  to  have  the 
murderer  punished  and  the  blacks  all 
turned  against  me. 

I  always  treated  them  justly  and  I  did 
not  feel  called  upon  to  shoot  any  of 
them;  in  fact,  I  have  not  as  yet  shot 
any  man.  My  friend  Yokai  reproached 
me  for  being  too  kind.  "You  are  not 
angry  enough,"  he  once  said.  "Shoot 
them,  shoot  plenty,"  he  added. 

There  was  nothing  else  to  do  but  to 
return  to  civilization  and  I  was  truly  glad 
when  I  arrived  with  all  my  collections 
at  the  sugar  plantation  on  the  lower  part 
of  the  Herbert  River.  I  had  discovered, 
in  addition  to  the  tree  kangaroo  above 
mentioned,  three  other  mammals.  I 
was  close  on  the  track  also  of  another 
animal,  a  large,  carnivorous  marsupial 
which  the  natives  called  yarri.  This 
animal  still  awaits  discovery.  That  it 
really  exists  I  do  not  doubt,  because  in 
such  matters  the  natives  are  to  be  de- 
pended upon. 

The  first  three  months  of  my  camping 


230 


NATURAL  HISTORY 


life  with  the  natives  of  Australia  are 
the  most  interesting,  I  might  almost  say 
fascinating,  time  I  have  had.  I  was  then 
at  the  zenith  of  my  power  and  it  is,  of 
course,  pleasant  to  be  the  first,  even 
among  admiring  savages.  My  whole 
sojourn,  covering  many  months,  with  the 
men  of  the  Stone  Age  was,  however, 
an  experience  I  am  glad  to  have  had. 

The  senses  of  the  Australian  blacks  are 
superior  to  ours,  their  eyesight  extra- 
ordinarily so.  As  he  walks  through  the 
jungle,  this  savage  man  will  constantly, 
without  stopping,  scoop  up  a  handful 
of  the  soil  and  smell  it,  to  ascertain 
whether  some  animal  has  passed  that 
way  or  not.  On  the  trunks  of  the  trees 
there  is  always  seen  a  bewildering  num- 
ber of  claw  marks  left  by  different  ani- 
mals, for  most  of  the  animals  of  that 
region  live  in  trees.  He  reads,  as  in  an 
open  book,  what  kind  of  animal  ascended 
that  tree  the  night  before,  and  whether 
it  is  now  up  in  the  hollow  of  the  trunk. 

The  most  interesting  scene  I  have 
witnessed  during  the  many  years  spent 
with  natives  of  different  countries  was 
the  annual  settlement  of  disputes,  in 
use  among  the  blacks  of  Herbert  River. 
It  is  called  bdrbobi  and  is,  in  fact,  dueling 
conducted  on  a  large  scale,  several  pairs 
fighting  at  the  same  time  by  throwing 
boomerangs  and  clubs,  then  spears, 
and  ending  by  pounding  each  other  with 
the  heavy  wooden  swords  used  in  North- 
east Queensland.  Huge  shields  are  used 
for  protection.  On  the  occasion  I  at- 
tended one  man  was  mortally  wounded 
by  a  spear  which  actually  went  through 
the  shield  and  into  his  stomach. 

After  having  written  a  book  on  Aus- 
tralia1 I  went  to  the  United  States  to 
lecture  on  my  unusual  experience  and 
also  with  the  hope  of  being  given  an  op- 

*An  account  of  my  Australian  travels  of  four 
years  was  published  in  several  languages, — the 
English  edition  Among  Cannibals,  by  John 
Murray,  London,  1889,  followed  a  little  later  by 
the  American  edition,  under  the  imprint  of 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York.  The  French 
edition,  Au  Pays  des  Cannibals,  was  published 
by  Hachette  et  Cie,  Paris. 


portunity  to  make  researches  among  the 
primitive  men  of  the  American  contin- 
ent. My  lectures  created  considerable 
interest  and  as  early  as  the  autumn  of 
1890  I  was  able  to  realize  my  project 
of  exploring  the  northern  part  of  the 
Sierra  Madre,  Mexico,  conducting  an 
expedition  under  the  auspices  of  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History 
and  the  American  Geographical  So- 
ciety. Professor  W.  Libbey  of  Prince- 
ton University  joined  the  party  and  as 
we  were  about  to  enter  a  little-known 
region,  I  thought  it  advisable  to  take 
along  a  few  collectors  in  the  domain  of 
natural  history. 

Starting  from  Bisbee,  Arizona,  in 
September,  I  entered  Mexico  through 
San  Pedro,  traveling  in  a  southerly  di- 
rection through  Sonora  and  then  turn- 
ing eastward  up  into  the  Sierra  Madre  at 
Nacori.  From  here  on  to  Casas  Grandes 
in  Chihuahua  we  had  to  make  our  own 
trail,  which  was  done  successfully  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  it  was  winter  and 
the  size  of  my  party  considerable.  With 
nearly  a  hundred  animals — mules,  don- 
keys, and  horses — we  crossed  the  Sierra 
Madre,  at  times  camping  in  the  snow. 
To  this  day  our  trail  has  remained  the 
commercial  road  between  the  States  of 
Sonora  and  Chihuahua. 

Arriving  at  the  Mormon  colony,  Pa- 
checo,  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Si- 
erra, we  found  some  very  interesting 
old  cave  dwellings  to  explore.  Later 
on  we  settled  on  the  lowlands  of  San 
Diego,  where  for  many  months  excava- 
tions were  made  of  several  large  mounds 
that  covered  house  groups.  We  un- 
earthed about  five  hundred  pieces  of 
beautiful  pottery. 

Among  the  fifty-five  mammals  se- 
cured on  this  first  expedition  to  Mexico 
was  a  superb-looking  red  squirrel  of  the 
high  Sierra,  which  received  the  name  of 
Sciurus  apache.  Our  botanical  collectors, 
Messrs.  C.  V.  Hartman  and  F.  E.  Lloyd, 
found  themselves  in  a  hitherto  neglected 
field  and  their  labors  were  rewarded 
with  the  finding  of  twenty-seven  new 


MY  LIFE  OF  EXPLORATION 


231 


Courtesy  of  Charles  Scribner's  Sons 

Although  the  majority  of  the  Tarahumare  Indians  live  in  simple  shelters,  usually  made  of 
rough  pine  boards  leaning  against  each  other,  they  all  love  caves.  Many  families  go  to  the  caves 
for  a  change  of  domicile,  others  live  in  them  permanently.  In  fact,  these  Indians  may  properly 
be  called  the  cave  dwellers  of  the  America  of  today 


species  of  plants,  some  of  them  of  much 
importance. 

After  an  absence  of  some  months  in 
the  United  States  I  returned  toward  the 
end  of  the  year  to  my  camp  at  San  Diego, 
and  in  January,  1892,  with  a  much  re- 
duced force  began  my  second  expedition 
to  Mexico,  ascending  again  the  Sierra 
Madre  and  following  it  southward. 

At  Tutuhuaca  we  met  with  a  new  spe- 
cies of  pine  (Pinus  lumholtzii),  which  is 
very  ornate  on  account  of  its  slender, 
whiplike  branches  and  its  long,  hanging 
needles.  Later  we  often  saw  it  growing 
in  groups  at  high  altitudes  on  decom- 
posed volcanic  tuff. 

For  one  and  one-half  years  I  traveled 
in  the  extensive  and  picturesque  coun- 
try of  the  Tarahumare  Indians,  the  great 
tribe  of  the  State  of  Chihuahua.  In 
order  to  save  expense  and  to  concentrate 
my  efforts  on  ethnological  research  in  the 
interesting  region  in  which  we  found  our- 
selves, I  dispensed  after  a  few  months 
with  my  assistants,  Mr.  C.  H.  Taylor, 
civil  engineer  and  photographer,  and  Mr. 
A.  E.  Meade,  mineralogist.  Mr.  Hart- 
man  remained  a  few  months  longer  as 
assistant  in  ethnology.  Finally,  how- 


ever, I  conducted  my  investigations 
alone,  following  the  wild  (so-called  gen- 
tiles) Indians  into  the  distant  retreats 
in  the  deep  canons  for  which  the  States 
of  Chihuahua  and  Durango  are  famous. 

The  Tarahumares  are  timid,  honest, 
and  bashful  people,  their  habits  and 
customs  often  being  singularly  inter- 
esting. Their  dances,  a  kind  of  religious 
exercise,  have  been  minutely  described 
by  me.  A  dancing  place  is  found  near 
all  dwellings  and  on  it  is  raised  a  small 
wooden  cross  to  which  to  dance,  and 
which  represents  a  man  with  arms 
outstretched,  Father  Sun,  the  perfect 
man. 

By  selling  most  of  my  animals  and  a 
large  part  of  my  outfit  and  through  the 
untiring  efforts  of  two  American  ladies 
whose  friendship  I  highly  esteemed,  I 
was  enabled  to  continue  these  researches 
until  August,  1893,  when  I  took  my  Tara- 
humare and  Tepehuane  collections  to 
Chicago  and  exhibited  them  at  the 
World's  Fair.  Extensive  vocabularies 
of  the  Tarahumare  and  Tepehuane 
languages  as  well  as  a  vocabulary  of  the 
now  almost  extinct  Tubares  were  among 
the  results  of  this  expedition,  besides 


Courtesy  of  Charles  Scribner's  Sons 
BARRANCA   DE    SAN   CARLOS   IN    CHIHUAHUA 

It  may  be  compared  with  the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado  so  far  as  depth  is  concerned, 
and  the  sides  are  steeper,  but  the  latter  excels  in  extensive  and  picturesque  views.  The  present 
picture,  showing  one  of  the  author's  carriers,  a  Tarahumare  Indian,  in  the  foreground,  was 
taken  in  the  upper  part  of  the  canon,  which  is  not  as  deep  as  the  lower  part 


232 


3/1'  LIFE  OF  EXPLORATION 


233 


anthropological  measurements,  samples 
of  hair,  and  osseous  remains. 

The  great  possibilities  Mexico  offers 
to  ethnology  proved  an  irresistible  in- 
centive to  new  researches,  and  seeing  the 
results  of  my  previous  expeditions,  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History  of 
New  York  again  sent  me  out  on  what  was 
to  be  my  third  and  most  extensive  Mexi- 
can expedition,  lasting  from  March,  1894 
to  March,  1897.  During  these  three  years 
I  again  traveled  alone,  that  is,  without 
any  scientific  assistants.  I  had  with  me 
at  first  two  or  three  Mexicans;  soon, 
however,  I  found  that  my  best  compan- 
ions were  the  so-called  civilized  Indians, 
or  even  Indians  in  their  aboriginal  state, 
who  not  only  helped  me  by  their  mere 
presence  to  win  the  confidence  of  their 
tribesmen  but  also  served  me  as  subjects 
of  observation.  As  before,  I  stopped  for 
months  with  a  tribe,  discharging  all 
alien  attendants,  and  roughing  it  with 
the  Indians.  In  this  way  I  spent  ten 
months  among  the  Coras  and  Huichols. 
At  first  the  natives  persistently  opposed 


me;  for  Indians  are  very  distrustful  of 
the  white  man,  and  no  wonder,  since  he 
has  left  them  little  enough  and  they  are 
therefore  forced  to  guard  that  little  the 
more  vigilantly.  I  managed,  however, 
to  make  my  entry  into  their  midst  and 
gradually  to  gain  their  confidence  and 
friendship,  mainly  through  my  ability  to 
sing  their  native  songs  and  by  always 
treating  them  justly. 

All  along  my  route  I  gathered  highly 
valuable  material  from  the  Tarahumares, 
the  Northern  and  the  Southern  Tepe- 
huanes,  the  Coras,  the  Huichols,  and  the 
Tepecanos, — all  of  which  tribes  except 
the  last-named  dwell  within  the  Sierra 
Madre  del  Norte;  also  from  the  Nahuas 
on  the  western  slopes  of  the  Sierra,  as 
well  as  from  those  in  the  States  of  Ja- 
lisco and  Mexico;  and,  finally,  from  the 
Tarascos  in  the  State  of  Michoacan.  Of 
most  of  these  tribes  little  more  than  their 
name  was  known,  and  I  brought  back 
large  collections  illustrating  their  ethni- 
cal and  anthropological  status,  besides 
extensive  information  in  regard  to  their 


Huicho  s  of  the  author's  party  1  nrviiiig  a  swollen  ton 


urn  construction 


HUICHOL    BOY 

Raising  maize  and  hunting  the  deer,  as  well  as  trequent  participation  in  religious  ceremonials, 
occupy  the  time  of  youths  as  well  as  men  among  this  mountain  people 


234 


MY  LIFE  OF  EXPLORATION 


235 


customs,  religion,  traditions,  and  myths. 
I  also  completed  my  collection  of  vocab- 
ularies and  aboriginal  melodies. 

Especially  fruitful  in  results  was  my 
stay  with  the  Huichol  Indians.  These 
Indians  had  been  known  mainly  to  a 
small  number  of  Mexican  half-breed 
traders  and  I  was  the  first  white  man  to 
visit  them.  The  country  was  difficult  of 
access  and  Mezquitic,  the  little  town 
from  which  the  tribe  is  reached,  is 
distant  three  or  four  days'  journey  on 
muleback.  The  isolation  of  these  In- 
dians on  a  tall  spur  of  the  Sierra  Madre 
had  been  their  salvation  and  I  found 
them  living  practically  in  the  same  state 
of  culture  as  when  Cortez  put  foot  on 
American  soil. 

They  had  their  temples  and  sacred 
caves,  which  were  filled  with  symbolical 
objects  of  singular  interest,  thus  throwing 
light  not  only  on  the  cultural  status  of  a 
barbarous  tribe  but  even  on  that  of  their 
far  more  advanced  kinsmen,  the  Aztecs. 
When  my  friend,  that  great  ethnological 
genius,  the  late  Frank  Hamilton  Gushing, 
saw  the  exhibition  of  my  Huichol  collec- 
tion at  the  American  Museum  of  Nat- 
ural History,  he  exclaimed,  as  he  let  his 
eyes  pass  over  the  richly  laden  tables  of 
the  room:  "This  is  like  seeing  a  new 
species  of  man." 

Of  the  ethnological  results  gained  dur- 
ing my  travels  in  Mexico  I  consider  the  in- 
formation which  was  collected  about 
the  anciently  well-known  peyote  (lopho- 
phora)  among  the  most  important.  It 
is  a  well  established  fact  that  this  little 
cactus  when  partaken  of  exhilarates  the 
human  system,  allays  all  feeling  of 
hunger  and  thirst,  and  produces  color 
visions.  In  the  Huichol  tribe  this  highly 
interesting  plant  cult  reached  its  greatest 
development.  The  Tarahumares  also 
worship  this  plant. 

In  order  to  collect  hfkuli,  as  the  cactus 
is  called,  a  pilgrimage  lasting  forty-three 
days  is  annually  undertaken  into  the 
State  of  San  Luis  Potosi. 

Of  late  years  the  hfkuli  cult  has, 
strangely  enough,  been  adopted  by 


Courtesy  of  Charles  Scribner's  Sons 

A  flower  (CEnothera  trichocalyx)  of  the  desert. 
It  usually  makes  its  appearance  along  the 
courses  of  the  dried-up  creeks 


certain  tribes  in  the  United  States  and 
well  meaning  people  are  trying  to  stop 
this  on  the  ground  that  it  is  a  kind  of 
debauche.  Nothing  could  be  farther 
from  the  truth.  By  all  manner  of  means 
prevent  the  Indians  from  getting  the 
white  man's  brandy,  which  ultimately 
and  surely  ruins  them,  but  hfkuli,  or 
peyote,  is  an  entirely  different  matter. 

As  far  as  my  experience  goes,  the  par- 
taking of  peyote  is  not  injurious  to  health; 
besides,  the  cult  is  observed  only  during 
a  limited  season  of  the  year.  The  ef- 
fect of  the  plant  on  the  nervous  system 
is  very  different  from  that  of  alcohol;  the 
balance  of  the  bodyjs_even  better  than 


236 


NATURAL  HISTORY 


The  author's  pack  train  wending  its  way  through  the  Sonora  desert.     The  sand  dunes  owe 
their  graceful  outlines  to  the  shaping  force  of  the  winds 


under  normal  conditions.  There  is  noth- 
ing vicious  about  the  hlkuli  cult.  Ab- 
stinence from  sexual  intercourse  is  im- 
posed on  its  devotees  and  a  marked  ef- 
fect of  the  plant  is  temporarily  to  take 
away  all  sexual  desire. 

On  my  journey  through  the  Tierra 
Caliente  of  the  Territory  of  Tepic,  and 
the  States  of  Jalisco  and  Michoacan,  I 
obtained  a  number  of  archaeological  ob- 
jects of  great  historical  value  and  im- 
portance. Among  the  antiquities  se- 
cured may  be  mentioned  a  beautiful  jar 
in  the  shape  of  a  turkey,  strikingly  or- 
namented with  thin  gold  plates.  Fur- 
thermore, a  number  of  large  terra  cotta 
figures  were  found  in  a  subterranean 
chamber  near  Iztlan  representing  ancient 
Tarascan  culture.  About  three  hundred 
skulls  of  Mexican  Indians  were  collected 
in  the  course  of  my  first  expeditions  to 
the  republic.  These  were  all  described 
years  ago  "in  a  scholarly  work  by  Dr.  A. 
Hrdlicka.  The  publication  of  this  im- 
portant work  has  thus  far  been  impos- 
sible through  lack  of  funds  but  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  such  funds  may  be  pro- 
vided for  the  purpose  in  a  not  distant 
future. 

In  1898,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Hrdlicka, 
I  revisited  the  Tarahumares  and  the 


Huichols.  In  1905,  I  alone  visited  the 
Huichol  and  Tepecano  Indians.  My 
observations  of  the  latter  tribe  have  not 
yet  been  published. 

In  1909-10  I  made  my  last  expedition 
to  Mexico,  traveling  in  the  Sonora  Des- 
ert and  the  southern  part  of  Arizona,  a 
fascinating  country  in  spite  of  the  arid 
conditions  prevailing  there.  The  won- 
derful colors  of  the  late  afternoon,  the 
glorious  sunshine,  the  peace  and  calm  of 
night,  and  the  thrills  that  accompany 
early  dawn  are  sources  of  constant  de- 
light to  the  traveler.  The  extraordinary 
adaptations  of  plant  and  animal  life, 
even  the  domestic  animals  of  Indians  and 
Mexicans  subsisting  without  difficulty 
for  months  without  water,  cannot  fail  to 
interest  the  observer.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Seri  and  the  Pima  Indians, 
the  natives  of  the  desert  had  so  far  re- 
ceived little  attention  from  those  engaged 
in  the  study  of  primitive  races.  The 
Papago  are  the  great  desert  people  of 
America  and  are  remarkably  stable  in 
their  racial  characteristics,  still  preserv- 
ing the  traditions  and  habits  of  the  past, 
which  soon  will  disappear. 

I  was  fortunate  in  being  able  to  de- 
scribe their  harvest  festival  and  in 
other  ways  to  give  an  insight  into  their 


MY  LIFE  OF  EXPLORATION 


237 


vat 


A  drinking  pool  in  the  Sonora  desert.     In  the  cavernous  depressions,  known  as  linojos,  of  the 
lava  formations,  water  is  also  obtained 


tribal  life.  It  is  well  authenticated  that 
the  tribe  knows  a  cure  for  hydrophobia 
and,  in  order  that  the  secret  shall  not 
die  with  the  tribe,  I  may  take  this  occa- 
sion to  state  that  the  main  ingredients  of 
the  medicine  are  certain  excrescences, 
of  wonderful  antiseptic  quality,  found 
on  the  greasewood  (Covillea  tridentata) , 
the  humble  but  very  attractive  bush  of 
the  desert. 

My  researches  in  Mexico  and  the 
Southwest,  extending  from  Casa  Grande, 
Arizona,  down  to  west  of  the  City  of 
Mexico,  thus  covered  a  period  of  nearly 
eight  years,  six  and  a  half  of  which 
were  spent  among  the  Indians  of  those 
regions.1 

Ever  since  my  adventurous  life  among 
the  blacks  of  Northeast  Queensland  it 
had  been  my  desire  to  explore  New 
Guinea,  the  largest  island  on  the  globe, 

'My  publications  on  Mexico  are,  besides 
minor  articles: 

Unknown  Mexico,  in  2  vols,  illustrated,  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  New  York,  1002. 

New  Trails  in  Mexico,  illustrated,  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  New  York,  1912. 

Symbolism  oj  the  Huichol  Indians,  Memoirs  of 
the  Arr.erican  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
1900. 

Decorative  Art  of  the  Huichol  Indians.  Mem- 
oirs of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  1004. 


and  among  the  least  known  regions 
thereof.  In  1914  it  really  seemed  that  I 
was  on  the  point  of  realizing  the  dream 
of  my  youth.  I  found  myself  in  Batavia, 
Java,  about  ready  for  the  start  east- 
ward to  New  Guinea.  It  was  a  Nor- 
wegian Expedition,  which  had  the  sup- 
port of  their  Majesties,  the  King  and  the 
Queen  of  Norway;  the  Norwegian  Geo- 
graphical Society,  the  Royal  Geographi- 
cal Society  of  London,  and  the  Royal 
Netherlands  Geographical  Society,  each 
made  a  contribution  to  my  funds,  which, 
besides,  were  increased  by  American  and 
English  friends.  With  the  outbreak  of 
the  great  war,  however,  my  plans 
suddenly  had  to  be  changed.  His  Ex- 
cellency, the  Governor  General  of  the 
Dutch  Indies,  Mr.  A.  W.  F.  Idenburg, 
regretted  his  inability  to  give  me  a  mili- 
tary escort  and  other  assistance  for  car- 
rying out  my  plans,  and  advised  me  to 
await  a  more  favorable  opportunity. 
As  I  had  never  been  in  British  India, 
I  decided  to  go  there  while  awaiting  de- 
velopments. In  India  I  studied  Hindu 
religions,  a  fascinating  occupation,  but 
after  eight  months  spent  there  I  decided 
to  return  to  the  Dutch  Indies  and  under- 
take an  expedition  to  Central  Borneo, 
parts  of  which  are  unexplored  and  un- 


238 


NATURAL  HISTORY 


Courtesy  of  Charles  Scribner's  Sons 


The  floor  of  the  desert  sometimes  rivals  the  "ribbed  sea  sand"  in  its  minute  sculpturing. 
Such  wavy  lines  owe  their  origin  to  the  action  of  the  wind.  The  scene  is  of  the  desert  northwest 
of  Pozo  del  Caballo,  Sonora 


known  to  the  outside  world.  The 
Governor  General  with  the  greatest 
courtesy  assisted  me  in  furthering  my 
project,  and  gave  me  a  small  escort  of 
six  Javanese  soldiers  under  the  command 
of  a  Dutch  lieutenant.  An  excellent 
native  surveyor  was  attached  to  the 
expedition  and  for  part  of  the  time  one 
of  the  government's  photographers. 

The  journey  through  central  Borneo, 
which  consumed  nine  months,  was  suc- 
cessfully made.  There  are  no  roads  in 
Borneo,  all  communications  being  by 
water,  the  large  rivers  enabling  the 
traveler  to  ascend  far  inland.  Numer- 
ous rapids,  often  very  difficult  to  con- 
quer, have  to  be  passed.  In  the  cen- 
tral part  of  the  great  island,  the  absence 
of  life — in  other  parts  abundant — was 
very  striking.  The  only  birds  that 
you  might  hear  or  see  were  the  great 
hornbill,  the  sandpiper,  and  a  kind  of 
kingfisher.  No  more  fish  were  caught 
in  the  rivers;  there  were  not  even  mos- 
quitoes, hence  there  is  no  malaria  in  the 
interior.  As  for  human  beings,  large 
tracts  of  the  inland  country  are  unin- 
habited. 

There  was  no  change,  however,  in  the 
exuberant  richness  of  the  tropical  vegeta- 
tion. As  we  ascended  the  Upper  Busang 
%  River,  the  scenery  was  often  beautiful 
beyond  words;  silence  reigned  supreme. 
It  was  like  having  a  pleasant  dream. 


I  extended  my  travels  to  other  parts  of 
the  great  island  and  thus  spent  the  better 
part  of  two  years  among  its  very  inter- 
esting natives.  They  form  many  differ- 
ent tribes,  which,  however,  present  many 
similarities  and  are  therefore  included 
under  the  general  name  of  Dayaks. 
Some  of  the  tribes  I  met  with  had  never 
been  studied  before.  I  may,  perhaps, 
not  be  accused  of  being  immodest 
in  claiming  the  credit  for  having  been 
able  to  put  the  head  hunters  of  Borneo 
in  the  right  light  before  the  civilized 
world. 

My  researches  prove  that  this  very 
repulsive  and  extraordinary  custom  of 
taking  heads  is  not  due  to  particular 
viciousness  on  the  part  of  those  who 
practise  it,  but  has  its  foundation  in  their 
vivid  realization  of  a  life  after  this;  in 
fact,  to  the  Dayaks,  as  to  many  Oriental 
people,  there  is  no  essential  difference 
between  this  life  and  the  next. 

At  the  very  moment  that  a  Dayak  cuts 
off  the  head  of  a  man  belonging  to  an- 
other tribe,  his  soul  conquers  that  of 
the  departed,  who  becomes  his  slave. 
If  that  head,  or  in  other  words  the  soul 
residing  in  it,  is  treated  well,  it  becomes 
a  friend  and  guardian  of  the  tribe. 
Such  a  head  protects  against  the  evil 
spirits  and  even  insures  material  bene- 
fit. This  is  in  a  few  words  the  idea  un 
derlying  head  hunting. 


P  c  "U  <u 

*Ji,3S 
D  IB  4       e 

C   X  rt   i-   C 

'C^2   °^   w 

•f  0-s^.S 

isJ  g3 

C   3  'C   C  ?, 

<-S3^I 

^JSK-g 

HH.2  i 


Farther  up'the  river  men  of  the  Kenyah  tribe  of  Borneo  have  been  beating  the  roots  of  the  tuba 
vine  to  free  the  poisonous  'uices  therein  contained.  These  juices,  mingling  with  the  waters,  stu- 
pify  the  fish  and  thus  make  possible  their  capture.  In  the  picture  women  of  the  tribe  are  seen 
with  hand  nets  held  in  readiness  to  scoop  up  the  fish  that  are  being  carried  along  helpless  in  the 
current 


Sections  of  bamboo  stalks  are  used  as  containers  for  rice  or  for  pork,  important  items  in  the 
diet  of  the  Dayaks.  A  little  water  is  added  but  no  salt.  As  long  as  the  stalks  are  green,  they 
resist  burning.  Rice  cooked  in  this  way  has  a  sweet,  delicious  flavor 


240 


MY  LIFE  OF  EXPLORATION 


241 


The  long-nosed  monkey  (nasalis  larvaius)  is 
peculiar  to  Borneo.  These  creatures  are  some- 
times found  in  groups  of  a  hundred  or  more 
travelling  through  the  forest  by  swinging  from 
branch  to  branch 

These  "  wild  men  of  Borneo"  neither 
tell  lies  nor  steal.  To  appropriate  the 
property  of  another  is  a  thing  they  take 
good  care  not  to  do,  for  a  thief  in  the 
next  life  will  be  seen  carrying  around  on 
his  back  all  the  stolen  goods,  thus  ex- 
posing himself  to  ridicule  and  contempt. 
The  Dayaks  are  hospitable,  generous, 
and  loyal.  During  the  two  years  I 
traveled  among  them  I  never  once  ob- 
served children  quarreling  or  fighting. 

The  results  of  my  journey  were  very 
satisfactory.  Vocabularies  of  many 
tribes  were  studied  and  collected;  an- 
thropometric  measurements  were  taken 
and  much  new  information  gathered  about 
the  habits  and  customs  of  the  natives. 
I  brought  back  material  for  several 
treatises,  especially  in  regard  to  the 
decorative  art  of  the  Dayaks  and  also 
concerning  a  much  developed  protective 
system  which  certain  tribes  possess  in 
carved  wooden  figures  called  kapatongs. 

Skins  of  mammals  and  birds  were  se- 
cured, as  well  as  specimens  of  fishes 
and  reptiles  in  alcohol.  So  far  only  the 
mammals  have  been  examined;  these 
yielded  one  new  species  and  two  new 
subspecies. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  both  among 
the  Chinese  and  the  Malays  individuals 


are  met  with  who  are  thoroughly  con- 
vinced of  the  existence  of  brown  men 
with  short  tails.  Many  will  tell  you 
that  they  themselves  have  seen  them. 
I  was  able  to  collect  from  the  Dayaks 
the  legend  of  the  tailed  men,  which  may 
be  found  in  my  book  on  Borneo.1 

The  Great  Archipelago  in  which  I 
found  such  a  remunerative  field  for  my 
efforts  appeals  to  me  more  than  any 
other  part  of  the  earth  which  I  have 
visited.  In  its  humid  and  warm  cli- 
mate I  thrived,  feeling,  in  fact,  better 
there  than  here.  The  great  possibili- 
ties of  discovery  in  those  distant  islands 
fascinate  me  now  as  they  did  when  I 


Courtesy  oj  Charles  Scribner'i  Sctn 
The  Manx  cat  is  not  the  only  one  with  a 
rudimentary  tail.  In  Borneo  there  is  a  do- 
mestic feline  that  is  either  stub-tailed  or  with 
a  ball  at  the  end  of  its  exceptionally  short 
caudal  appendage 


was  in  Australia.  I  have  decided  to 
devote  the  rest  of  my  life  to  science, 
to  visit  little  known  or  unknown 
parts  of  the  earth  with  the  hope 
of  increasing  our  knowledge  from  a 
geographical  and  anthropological  point 

'An  account  of  my  exploration  of  Borneo  is 
given  in  Through  Central  Borneo — Two  Years' 
Travel  in  the  Land  of  the  Head  Hunters,  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  New  York,  1920. 


242 


NATURAL  HISTORY 


From  a  cinematograpli  showing  a  Penyahbong 
of  Central  Borneo  gracefully  executing  a  war 
dance  practised  by  many  Dayak  tribes.  Be- 
fore seizing  his  sword  and  shield  and  indulging 
in  the  more  violent  movements  of  the  dance, 
he  went  through  the  preliminary  of  exercising 
all  his  flexible  muscles.  His  motions  were  lithe 
as  those  of  a  serpent 


of  view  and  also  with  the  expectation  of 
making  further  contributions  in  the  field 
of  natural  history. 

I  am  more  than  ever  interested  in 
carrying  out  my  New  Guinea  project, 
which  was  so  unexpectedly  thwarted 
by  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  No  country 
offers  such  rewards  to  the  intrepid  ex- 
plorer as  New  Guinea,  the  largest  island 
on  the  globe,  lying  just  to  the  north  of 
Australia  with  which  it  was  once  con- 
nected. 

In  1920  I  went  abroad  in  the  hope,  of 
securing  in  Norway  the  necessary  funds 
for  this  the  greatest  of  all  my  undertak- 
ings. If  I  had  come  one  year  earlier, 
I  should  have  gotten  all  the  money 
needed,  and  more,  my  friends  assured  me, 
but  the  great  financial  depression  which 
had  then  begun  to  manifest  itself  in 
Norway  made  it  impossible  to  secure 
more  than  a  small  part  of  what  was 
needed.  It  must  be  said  that  my  coun- 
trymen did  all  that  they  could  to  further 
my  purpose  in  which  they  are  intensely 
interested,  but  "  Ultra  posse  nemo  ob- 
ligatur." 

I  am  now  trying  to  get  the  necessary 
support  in  the  United  States  for  an  enter- 
prise that  cannot  fail  to  give  the  valuable 
results  desired  and  which  may  prove  of 
direct  benefit  to  civilization  by  the  dis- 
coveries I  expect  to  make.  This  is 
not  the  place  for  a  detailed  account  of 
my  plans,  which  I  shall  always  be  most 
happy  to  furnish  to  anyone  interested 
in  the  matter,  but  may  I  not  be  allowed 
in  a  few  words  to  state  the  object  of  my 
proposed  expedition? 

I  intend  to  cross  New  Guinea  from 
south  to  north  at  its  broadest  point, 
having  chosen  a  route  where  no  white 
man  has  ever  been  before  me.  We  shall 
have  to  cross  at  an  elevation  of  10,000 
feet  the  great  Snowy  Range,  whose  high- 
est measured  peak  is  18,000  feet.  From 
the  time  when  I  shall  have  established 
my  headquarters  at  the  foot  of  the 
range  until  I  am  able  to  emerge  on  the 
north  coast  of  the  island,  one  year 
will  have  elapsed.  The  backbone  of 


MY  LIFE  OF  EXPLORATION 


243 


The  artistic  ability  of  the  Dayaks  expresses 
itself  in  carving  rather  than  in  music.  Never- 
theless, they  have  musical  instruments,  the 
chief  of  which  is  here  represented.  Its  notes 
are  rather  pleasant 


my  expedition  will  be  175  Dayaks,  who 
will  be  brought  to  New  Guinea  from 
Borneo.  They  are  to  be  our  carriers, 
builders  of  boats  and  of  houses.  I  shall 
have  two  taxidermists  and  a  botanical 
collector;  an  experienced  geologist,  whom 
I  hope  to  secure  in  the  United  States, 
will  be  an  important  member,  for  this 
great  island  is  of  particular  interest  to 
geology,  which  here  will  find  the  solu- 
tion of  many  of  its  most  important  prob- 
lems. 

For  many  years  I  have  studied  the 
food  question,  and  there  need  be  no  fear 
that  beri  beri  or  kindred  diseases  will 
attack  the  expedition. 

Among  people  who  know,  it  is  the  uni- 
versal verdict  that  no  region  offers  such 
inducements  for  exploration  as  New 
Guinea.  We  expect  to  meet  natives 


that  have  never  seen  a  white  man. 
Whenever  a  collector  has  gone  up  a 
hitherto  unvisited  river  in  New  Guinea, 
he  has  invariably  brought  back  new  spe- 
cies of  birds  of  paradise,  and  without  any 
doubt  we,  too,  will  discover  new  species 
of  these  most  gorgeous  creatures.  We 
are  confident,  too,  of  coming  upon  new 
species  of  mammals,  some,  maybe, 
of  considerable  size.  Superb  butterflies 
and  interesting  land  shells  may  be  ex- 
pected. Botany  will  naturally  gain 
much  that  is  novel.  In  geology,  speci- 
ally valuable  results  may  be  antici- 
pated, and  we  are  likely  to  find  new 
minerals. 

Thus  we  may  hope  to  make  a  valuable 
contribution  to  the  history  of  the  earth, 
as  well  as  to  our  present  knowledge  of 
the  mineral,  plant,  and  animal  king- 
doms. Some  of  our  discoveries  may 
even  prove  of  great  economic  value. 


A  tame  horn-bill  that  often  came  to  roost  on 
the  author's  tent.  The  Dayaks  refrained  from 
laughter,  no  matter  how  ridiculous  were  the 
antics  of  this  bird,  for  they  hold  the  belief  that 
those  who  laugh  at  animals  will  be  strirkcn 
with  illness 


